Two conferences, the SWAC and MEAC, choose to send their champions to the Heritage Bowl, a postseason event that’s separate from the FCS playoffs. What this means is that their conference champions play in the Heritage Bowl and not the playoffs, though second-placed teams could be considered instead,

A third, the Ivy League, chooses to not send its members to the FCS playoffs.

All conferences have determined their champions this week and they all have automatic bids to the 2017-2018 FCS Playoffs:

Big Sky: Southern Utah

Big South: Kennesaw State

CAA: James Madison

Missouri Valley: North Dakota State

NEC: Central Connecticut State

Ohio Valley: Jacksonville State

Patriot League: Lehigh

Pioneer: San Diego

Southland: Central Arkansas

SoCon: Wofford

Porjected Seeds:

James Madison

Jacksonville State

North Dakota State

Central Arkansas

South Dakota State

Wofford

Southern Utah

Sam Houston State

The biggest question marks CSJ feels in regards to the seeding is the order of the 2-4 seeds, and the reveal of who the 8 seed is.

11-0 James Madison pretty much, CSJ feels, needs to be locked in as the No. 1 seed, but after that there is debate on the order of the next three. 10-1 Jacksonville State, with their only loss to Georgia Tech, gives them the edge over North Dakota State, whose only loss came to a division rival in South Dakota State, while 10-1 Central Arkansas, whose loss was also to an FBS team in Kansas, had a weaker overall schedule than North Dakota State.

The biggest question mark came down to the No. 8 seed, which to CSJ comes down to Sam Houston State, Western Illinois, Stony Brook, or Weber State. In CSJ’s view, Sam Houston State’s 10-1 record cannot be ignored, with their sole loss to seeded Central Arkansas, over the other teams.

CSJ feels like the final four spots will come down to some very tough decisions based on some head-to-head wins: Montana over Northern Arizona; Delaware vs. Albany; Delaware vs. Stony Brook; New Hampshire vs. Stony Brook; and a couple of conference losses (McNeese vs. Nicholls; Monmouth vs. Kennesaw State).

The most critical game over the weekend, CSJ feels, was Samford’s win over Furman. That win likely propelled Samford into the field and knocked out one of the final at-large teams, while Furman remains in the bracket.